Well, Holy Crap

As you’ve probably heard, Thad Cochran, improbably – almost unbelievably if you go back to late on primary night – came back to beat Tea Party challenger Chris McDaniel. It’s important to note that Cochran fielded a much more together and aggressive GOTV operation than they did in round one. And I think a careful analysis of the vote totals will suggest that that increased margin was more about turning out Republicans than pulling in Democrats. Still, it seems clear that Democrats played some role, quite possibly a very important role in Cochran’s victory. And the fact that almost by definition a lot of them were black Democrats, courted by the Cochran camp, is going to put gas and kerosene and everything flammable on the bonfire of intra-party recrimination. This will not go down easily. See here for more.